When to Plant Field Peas in Sheldon, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant field peas is to look at the USDA zone info for Sheldon.


Planting Calendar for Field Peas

Frost tolerance for field peas: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Field Peas can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant field peas
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant field peas
Probably not a good time to plant field peas

The earliest that you can plant field peas in Sheldon is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant field peas and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your field peas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your field peas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sheldon the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sheldon is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Sheldon last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your field peas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sheldon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Sheldon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sheldon.